Wednesday, 2 May 2012

A cattle farmer makes a whole lot more then just the steak on your plate. One single beef animal can be responsible for over two dozen other products. (Please excuse the professional tone of this post, I cheated a bit. I used a school term paper.)

A by-product is defined as a secondary or incidental product in the process of manufacturing. Beef animals have many different uses that are available besides the purposes that farmers are focusing on; meat. One animal can provide more than two dozen uses after it has been slaughtered. Many people believe we should utilise these animals’ by-products to help our society become more efficient in the manufacturing sector. Beef have been identified as the largest contributor for by-products in the meat animal industry,

One beef animal can provide products for multiple industries, including the food, musical, photography, sports and health industries. There are over 40 known by-products using the secondary products from a beef animal[1]. Virtually every body part can be used in the production of something from the beef animal, whether it is the bones, fatty acids, horns & hooves, intestines, hide & hair, or their organs & blood. 64% of the animal is used for meat[2]; this leaves 36% or 360 pounds of a 1,000 animal for the production of by-products. Just about everything you do in the day includes the by-product of a beef animal.

Gelatine from bones

Gelatine from the bones of a beef animal have several uses, both in-edible and edible. The majority of these items are aiding the food industry while others contribute to the photography, beauty and health industries.

The gelatine from the bones aid in the production of gelatine candy, including gummy bears, marshmallows, jell-o as well as the gel coatings for medication capsules. Other non-edible products made from gelatine includes photographic film, paper as well as hair gels. The gelatine is extracted from the bones of the cattle, through a process of curing, acid and alkali processes. These processes can take several weeks, and make a huge difference in the final products properties. An at home version of these processes is to boil the bones from the animals, as the gelatine will dissolve in the water. After cooling the water, it should naturally form a jelly substance[3]. Manufacturing gelatine consists of three main stages; pre-treatment, extraction and refining and recovering. The pre-treatments are used to make the raw materials ready for step two. The final products chemical properties relay on these treatments, as they help remove impurities, which can alter the chemicals in the product. In the extraction process, hot water or a dilute solution of acid is used to extract the hydrolyze collagen into gelatine. The final step of refining and recovery treatments puts the product through several steps including evaporation, drying and grinding, which removes the water to obtain a blended, dried and ground gelatine product. It can then be used in a variety of places.

Gummy bears, marshmallows and jell-o have gelatine as an ingredient to help give them the “jelly” texture. Gelatine is also used to cover medication capsules, as it can dissolve in the stomach due to its acidic nature, but preserve the medication while in storage. It is also known to be an agent aiding in the wrinkle free aspects of many paper products, including crepe paper and playing cards[4]. Gelatine is used in photographic film to aid as a binding medium and protective agent for photographic records as it protects against the fading properties of light[5].

Hair gel with gelatine as a main ingredient is highly used in synchronized swimming, as it helps keep their hair in place as it does not dissolve in the cold water of the pool[6]. Gelatine is one of the many useful by-products from the beef animal.

Fatty-acids

The fatty-acids from the fat of the beef animal also contribute to both edible and non-edible by-products. Adhesives, shaving cream, and tires all contain by-products from a beef animal[7].

The sticky parts of bandages are made from the fatty-acid by-products of a bovine[8]. Certain fatty-acids are made from carbonates, which are well known to chemists as they represent an important class of organic compounds and many have interesting characteristics which make them useful for many industrial applications. The polar nature of the carbonate enables it become a strong adhesive agent[9].

Shaving creams use fatty-acids derived from beef animals as an emollient[10], which is a soothing agent for the skin. It is also used as an agent to keep the other ingredients intact in a formulation.

Tires have a stearic acid that allows the rubber to hold it shape under constant surface friction[11]. The asphalt on our roadway also has a binding agent from beef fats.

Horns & hooves

Horns and hooves are the most commonly known by-product used from a beef animal. The uses of these products include imitation ivory, pet chews and piano keys.

Depending on the coloring of the horn will determine the use. If they are white, it can be easily manufactured to look like authentic ivory, which is very rare material that is commonly used in jewellery making. Not much alteration is needed, just some basic buffing and shaping.

Pet chews are not picky on the coloring of hooves. Basically, they are made by taking the horns and shaving pieces off. They are then shaped to the desired size, and then seasoned and covered in a collagen protein binder for the final touches.

Piano keys were traditionally made from ivory. However, since ivory is becoming increasingly hard to get a hold of, manufacturers have turned to using horns of other animals to make these musical pieces. Just like imitation ivory, piano keys are simple to make from horns, simply buff and shape to the desired shape and size.

Intestines

Using a beef animal’s intestine to create other products may seem unethical or disturbing to some people. However, I would bet that most people do not realize the products they make are for sports equipment and musical instruments.

Tennis racquets have multiple different types of string to choose from, including polyester, Kevlar, Zyex, solid-core synthetic gut, multifilament core synthetic gut and natural gut[12], among other choices. Natural gut is said to be one of the best types of strings you could put on your racquet. It gives power and control, with a shock-free feeling. It is fairly expensive, reducing its popularity in the modern age. Intestines are not the only body part that contributes to the making of sports equipment.

Animal intestines have been used in musical instrument strings for hundreds of years, typically from sheep, but also from beef animals. These types of strings are known to define the tone of a violin[13]. It is important that the gut is allowed to cool after slaughter, if it is too hot, and the blood vessels break, it can lower the quality of the end product. They use the intestinal casings for production of the strings, and must have all the membranes removed. It is then sent to the string maker who whitens the intestines so they are of a uniform color. It then goes through a dryer to allow it to harden, and then they shape and cut the strings in to their desired size.

Hide & Hair

Many people are aware of the by-products used from the hide and hair of a beef animal. It includes leather goods, sports equipment, and paint brushes.

Leather is made from the hide of the animal. The hide is then treated with tanning chemicals that react with the collagen in the skin. Collagen is a fibrous protein that makes up most of the skin and is insoluble in water[14]. The tanning chemicals allow the hide to become a durable material without disrupting the basic structure and natural beauty of the skin. Leather is used in a wide variety of materials, including shoes, car seats, belts, jackets and other things.

Certain sports equipment manufacturers also use leather, such as baseball gloves, footballs, volleyballs among other things. One animal can make 20 footballs, 18 soccer or volleyballs, 12 basketballs or baseball gloves or 144 baseballs. The sports equipment industry uses over 100,000 cattle hides each year[15].

Artists all over the world are using a piece of an animal every time they make a paintbrush stroke. The brush of a paintbrush is made from the hair of a beef animal. When shaving the animals hide for the use of leather, the hair is saved to be used for the paint industry. After collecting the hair, it is then put through a sanitation and bleaching process to make the hair a uniform color. After the processing is done, the hair can be assembled for use in the paintbrushes. Certain brushes are more bristle then others, due to the different species and breed of the animal used. Typically the hair of a pig is used for the firmer brushes then cattle hair would allow.

Organs & blood

The organs and blood of a beef animal after it has been slaughtered provide many uses in the health industry. Insulin, allergic reaction treatments, and haemophilia treatments are a few of the ways the organs and blood of a beef animal can help save human lives.

The pancreas is used to extract insulin for diabetes patients. Modern technology has allowed for advances in this medical field, providing synthetic versions of insulin. However, in certain parts of the world, the pancreas of cattle is still used for these patients. A fresh pancreas is best for the extraction of the insulin, as there would be less proteolytic enzyme activity that kills the insulin[16]. The season of year, age, breed and sex of the animal all have impacts on the amounts and quality of the insulin received. It is easily extracted through a serious of filtering the fluid from the pancreas.

The adrenal glands and pituitary glands of a beef animal can be used to help treat allergic reactions and allergic diseases. The adrenal glands of any mammal produce hormones that are used in multiple daily body functions[17], including fatigue, stress, allergic reactions and other conditions. It is thought that by taking a dosage of these hormones extracted from an animal will help supplement what the patient’s body is not producing for them.

36% of a beef animal contributes to other industries rather then meat, such as sports equipment, health and cosmetics in addition to other industries. One animal can provide more than two dozen uses after it has been slaughtered. Many people believe we should utilize these animals’ by-products to help our society become more efficient in the manufacturing sector. Beef have been identified as the largest contributor for by-products in the meat animal industry. There are over 40 known by-products using the secondary products from a beef animal. Virtually every body part can be used in the production of something from the beef animal, whether it is the bones, fatty acids, horns & hooves, intestines, hide & hair, or their organs & blood. Utilizing everything we can from a meat animal allows each industry to lower production costs, as they do not have to manufacture these ingredients.Based on all of these by-products, I do not understand how vegans avoid everything manufactured from animals, I know I could never do it.